Risks And Benefits Of Ideological Reasoning
Top-down thinking is based on the ideas, core principles, personal beliefs and concepts that lead to a specified application. According to Facione and Gittens, ideological reasoning is both deductive and axiomatic. Meaning that the individual presenting the argument takes their ideological premises solely on their faith alone. In our world today, everyone has their personal top-down thinking. As we read, we learn that ideological reasoning is an important thought process. With ideological thinking there are many associated benefits. These beliefs are associated with religion, one’s ethics, politics, set forth rules and regulations. For example, same-sex marriage. The religious ideological thought here comes from the bible, we are taught that man and woman lay together, not man and man or woman and woman.
On the political side of this topic, we know that each state has its own right to determine and decide if they will allow or deny same-sex marriage. Lastly, personal ideological thinking, people believe that loving whom you want is simply of human nature and we should not be denied our freedom of loving whom we love. Second example would be that of immigration. Personal opinions and beliefs on immigration is that we should allow immigrants into our country to give them a chance of freedom and opportunity to better the lives of themselves and their family. Politically, the belief that who ever comes to the United States and does not carry citizenship, then they are breaking laws and therefore are criminals. The benefits, use and the risks include communal shaping, escae from the “malaise and suffocating of relativism, and address novel questions” (Facione & Gittens, 2016). Ideological thinking shapes us as individuals and as a whole (community). Without ideological thinking our individualism would cease to exist. Ideological reasoning allows to address questions that linger. Ideological reasoning also allows us to differentiate between good and bad, right and wrong and option vs. obligation (Facione & Gittens, 2016). Risks of ideological reasoning can leave us mistaken “against scientific confirmation or disconfirmation”.
Our text states that the benefits of this reasoning are also classified as the risks. According to Facione and Gittens the benefits are risks in the sense that ideological reasoning can be persuasive. This means that the thoughts, ideas and beliefs of one or a group can be altered, leaving the chance for error in decision making and proper thought process.
Reference
- Facione, P. A. , & Gittens, C. A. (2016). Think critically. Boston: Pearson.
